The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying vegetables, particularly lettuce.
In the course of preparing vegetables, it is frequently necessary to dry them before they are refrigerated or served. Cut lettuce, in particular, is customarily treated with ice water so that it will be fresh and crisp when used later in salads and should be partially dried so that salad dressing will not run off the leaves too quickly, but some moisture should be retained to make the lettuce more palatable.
In the past, lettuce has been dried by placing it in a perforated basket that is shaken or rotated, either manually or by an electric motor, the use of a motor being preferable, particularly for commercial applications. Previously known vegetable dryers are often difficult to clean, since they have numerous corners and crevices that are not easily accessible. A thorough cleaning and sanitizing usually requires that a skilled person disassemble the device, using appropriate tools. Cleaning is, therefore, a time-consuming process and may tend to be done with less frequency than is desirable for food-handling equipment, particularly in the case of a motorized dryer with a more complex structure. It is, therefore, preferable to provide a dryer having a removable but rotatable basket to facilitate cleaning. A problem arises, however, in that a removable basket tends to shift off-center, producing excessive vibration. Moreover, if the basket is plastic, which is preferable from the point of view of cost and ease of sanitization, and if it is not properly centered and supported, it tends to deform under centrifugal force. This deformation tends to exaggerate any out-of-balance condition and may induce excessive vibration.
Motor-driven dryers are equipped with clutches for controlling the rotation of the vegetable container. These clutch mechanisms are sometimes of a type that can easily injure the hands of the operator and present a particularly high risk of injury when the device is being cleaned. Another dangerous aspect of previously known vegetable dryers is the use of upstanding lugs that engage and rotate a removable basket. If the dryer is turned on after the basket is removed, the rotating lugs become a likely source of injury.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a safe, simple, convenient, easily sanitized and easy to operate apparatus for drying lettuce and other vegetables that can be readily used in restaurants and other food preparation facilities. Another objective is to provide such an apparatus employing a removable basket that is self-centering.